Maria Gakdeng scored 14 points and Lanie Grant added 13 as No. 19 North Carolina used 3-pointers to build an early lead and cruised past Florida 77-57 in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.
Alyssa Ustby added 11 points and Gakdeng chipped in eight rebounds as the Tar Heels (11-2) bounced back from a six-point loss to then-No. 25 Georgia Tech on Sunday.
Alexia Mobley’s layup trimmed North Carolina’s lead to five with 3:18 left in the first quarter, but the Tar Heels responded with the final 11 points of the period: Gakdeng’s layup, two consecutive 3-pointers from Grant and another trey from Trayanna Crisp. The cushion grew to 21 at halftime and never dropped below 13 the rest of the way.
Liv McGill led Florida (7-4) with 15 points but went only 5 of 21 from the floor. Laila Reynolds added 10 points and Ra Shaya Kyle collected eight points and 11 rebounds. The Gators managed just 31.6 percent shooting from the floor, including 2 of 13 on 3-pointers.
No. 17 Georgia Tech 88, Rice 57
Rusne Augustinaite exploded for 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting from long range as the unbeaten Yellow Jackets warmed up in the second quarter and put away the Owls in the nonconference matchup in Atlanta.
Augustinaite, a sophomore, came off the bench to nail four treys in the first four-plus minutes of the second quarter, and Georgia Tech (12-0) went on to outscore Rice 21-7 in the period and lead 37-18 at halftime. She began the day averaging just 5.6 points after posting 10.8 per game as a freshman.
Kara Dunn scored 17 points, Zoesha Smith notched 11 points and 11 rebounds and Tonie Morgan chipped in 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 49.3 percent for the game, including 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from long range.
Hailey Adams led Rice (7-5) with 12 points and Dominique Ennis added 10. Both players chipped in five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Georgia Tech outrebounded the Owls 48-31. Rice shot 36.9 percent from the field, including a disastrous 12.5 percent (2 of 16) in the second quarter.
–Field Level Media
